What was the reason for your great cross-country road? Where did this journey take you?
The journey itself was the reason. The first time I saw my car on Dubizzle six years ago, I told myself that if I got it, one day I would drive it to Belgium. Then you know how time flies in Dubai and how work governs our lives. So the project got pushed to the back of my mind, until last year when I lost my job. This gave me the opportunity to finally put the project in motion.
Once I’d driven the car to Belgium,then what? I’m not planning on living there anytime soon, off-road driving isn’t possible and the price of petrol in Europe is very expensive. So, the simple choice was to drive the car back to Dubai. The political situation in the Middle-East and Northern Africa gave me a limited choice of how to travel in and out of Dubai. The result has been an amazing journey of 25,500 km through 23 countries: UAE, Iran, Naxhivan (Azerbaijan), Iraq (Kurdistan), Turkey, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia, Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Lichtenstein, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Italy, San Marino and Greece.
The UAE part was only going from home to Sharjah port and back, but it counts, right? Besides, I drove even less in Bosnia.
What were your preparations for the trip?
Most people would plan such a trip few years in advance and have plenty of time to get everything done on schedule. My own deadline for departure was a.s.a.p., so I had very limited time to plan, yet there were certain things which had to be done before taking to the road. You can just pack and go but then you open the door to problems that can quickly become unmanageable and transform a nice trip in an absolute nightmare. I had to research all the administrative and logistical aspects which was time consuming and caused many delays which all added up. These delays meant that I was only ready to go at the beginning of August, the warmest month in the regions I went to. The only functional change I made to the car was to install wipers which I thought would be useful in Europe.
On the way up, I only had one day of rain out of 60, but on the way down, the continuous snowfalls justified the investment.
The off-road driving was to be in one of the harshest environments on Earth, so required was good preparation. You just need a bit more food and a water reserve. Once everything was ready the challenge was to pack it in a convenient way in the car. The other changes and equipment needed was related to camping and comfort. For a weekend trip in the desert, you can eat on the bonnet of your car and sleep in a hammock. But for four months, I needed a bit more so I invested in a roof tent, awning, lights, table, gas stove, and 220-volt power. It compensates for the fact that the car has neither AC nor heating.
What was the most challenging part of your trip and how did you overcome it?
The most challenging part had been the organisation and loading of the car, with the constraints of weight and space available. The wrong setup would bother you during the entire trip. Taking the time
to think about the ideal setup had been part of the delay before leaving, but I am glad I took the time to get it right. The other challenges I faced were those unexpected issues which had to be tackled one at a time as and when they happened. You have to be ready for them but not think about them all the time. Being woken up by Kalashnikov muzzles looking up at you is a bit surprising, but then you realize that these soldiers were only doing their job so use your negotiation skills to get out of that situation. I had been in temperatures ranging from 54.3°C in the South of Iran to -28.3°C in the Southeast of Turkey, but with the correct equipment, it is bearable.
Was there a point in your trip that you almost gave up? What made you continue?
I don’t remember my morale getting so low that I wanted to give up. Of course, winching the car for more than three hours to get out of a muddy slope under a heavy cold rain is not my definition of fun, but it’s part of the game. If I didn’t want to risk such things, I’d just stick to the highway, but then I wouldn’t have seen half of the beautiful places I have seen. If you look at the pictures on my blog, you will not see a lot of tar roads. To be honest, when I reached Turkey on the way back, I was fed up with three weeks of clouds, snow and rain, so I decided to drive east and not to stop until I reached sunshine. Reaching Kurdistan has been a blessing; white landscape, blue sky and crisp cold, just what I needed.
When I reached Belgium, the engine of the car was near the end of its life. So if I wanted to get back to Dubai, I had to rebuild the whole engine. But a challenge that you can overcome with money is not really a challenge, is it?
What did your friends and families say when you told them about your ambitious trip?
Well, there were some mixed feelings going from reticence to full support, through to pure indifference. Most of the people supported my choice but were less confident in a 1989 soft top Land Rover pick up. People who know me well knew that once I’ve decided something, it is difficult to make me change my mind. On the way, I also encountered all kind of reactions. Some people were just happy to get a ride to the next village and didn’t ask any questions, some looked at me as if I would steal their chickens or worse, and in Iraq, some swore they were watching my show every month on television and asked for an autograph, but all in all the people were really supportive. A lot of them however, just wondered what on earth I was doing in their village.
What was the best part of doing your cross-country trip?
Absolute freedom is the thing. We live in a world of constraints, deadlines and objectives but when I sit behind the wheel of my car and the wheels leave the tar road, I have a feeling of pure freedom. For the first time in my life, I had no plan and no objectives, I just calculated how many months I could afford without working (and I can ensure you that I stretched it pretty far) before leaving. I just knew that I had to head in a general North-West direction, but that’s it. No booking, no defined itinerary, just navigating with low-detail maps, my sight and my sixth sense. When you don’t know where you’re going, you can’t get lost – as simple as that. Again, the journey is the reason in itself. You see a nice track leading up to the top of a mountain? Just take it, why do you need to know where it is going.
Share with us one of the best memories you had on doing the trip
Most of my best memories are related to water. When I found a nice secluded place in a landscape where I could cool off in a body of water, I would stop for the day, whatever the time.
One time, towards the end of my trip on my way to Iran’s Bandar Abbas I spotted a track leading to the mountains. I left the road and followed it, reaching a nice plateau with blooming flowers and lots of figs and pomegranate trees. There was a nice concrete tank 10x5x2m full of spring water which was used to water those trees. This became my own infinity pool for the day in an amazing landscape, far away from five-star-hotels full of tourists.The only company was the occasional herder on his donkey passing by with his goats. For 5 minutes, we would share few words and sunflower seeds – priceless.
Did the trip change you in any way?
Not really, or if yes, I haven’t noticed it yet. I haven’t had much time to think yet as I started a new job five days after getting back. However, this was not meant to be a journey in search for myself. It was an extended holiday doing something I like – driving in the middle of nowhere. Of course, it is always good to be reminded where you stand compared to the majority of people on Earth. I had more possessions in my car than the people who fed me and offered me a roof to sleep on had in their house, and that definitely makes you think. Also, after discovering the hospitality of the Iranian people, I will definitely review my own definition of hospitality. They are two leagues ahead of the best hospitality one has ever experienced in Oman. You have to experience it to believe it. I had, like everybody, the vision of Iran formed by the media. Throw that in the bin and go visit this amazing country while there is still time!
How did you feel after accomplishing such an adventure?
How did I feel? I feel like working hard and retiring early to continue travelling until I am bored, but I can probably keep dreaming. However, a lot of people thought that this was the ‘trip of a lifetime’. I definitely hope that it is the first of a long series as there are so many places on Earth that I still have to discover.
Parting words for those who dream of doing cross-country road trips like yours?
Life is too short, stop dreaming; pack your car and go! How many times a year do you hear that close relatives and friends died of cancer or in accidents? They probably had plenty of projects they wished they had realised before going. Stop reading travel books and blogs, prepare your own journey, make the necessary sacrifices, and go. The excuse I hear the most is: “But you know, with a family that is different, far more difficult, etc., etc.” This is not a valid excuse; I can show you tens of websites and blogs of families traveling the world. Of course, you are not obliged to go hardcore like I did. I am pretty sure your family would appreciate some AC in summer and heating in winter. But between organised tours and the way I did it, there is a formula suitable for everybody.
Oh and yes, just a quick word about travel guides. They are of course useful to see that you don’t miss something mandatory in a country, like Persepolis in Iran. Please take these guides as a good basis, but dare to explore and go beyond that. The most beautiful things I saw during my trip were not featured in any guides.
As for shorter trips, if you think you have seen most of Oman, give Iran a try. I know the ferry trip is expensive (around 1,500 USD back and forth) and was my worst administrative nightmare ever, but the country was worth it. Lut desert, a 5-600 km crown flight from Dubai is the most beautiful desert I have ever seen. Just have a look at the pictures on my blog: http://www.slowlanetonowhere.blogspot.com.
Thanks for reading my stories and reports all these months in this great magazine. Bye for now!
Patrice (& Marcel of course)
